Lions forward Willem Alberts put in a trademark huge hit on Waratahs number eight Jack Dempsey in Friday’s Super Rugby game.
The 120kg lock picked up the nickname The Bone Collector for his brutal tackles and this one on Dempsey had the entire crowd on their feet in Sydney.
But there was also a lot of physicality in the build up to Alberts’ tackle. Dan Kriel, the brother of South African centre Jesse, bumped off his defender and provided a lovely offload to Tyrone Green on the right wing, who was then crunched into touch by three Waratahs defenders in unison.
This led to a quick line out where Dempsey received the ball and had his ribs crunched by The Bone Collector. There were high fives and bum slaps for Alberts as he got to his feet while Dempsey understandably took his time to recover on the ground.
Unfortunately for Alberts this tackle wasn’t enough to inspire his teammates and it was the hosts who ran away with a 29-17 win. This leaves the Tahs fourth in the Australian Conference after four rounds and full match highlights are available at the below:
Alberts, 35, earned 43 caps for South Africa between 2010-16 and spent much of his career with Super Rugby sides the Sharks and now the Lions with a few seasons at Top 14 side Stade Français in between.
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